Brief History of the USS Sarek
USS Sarek
NCC-72075 is a very special starship. Construction started
on the vessel, at the time named Epsilon
Indi, in 2365 after the loss of the USS Yamato. Then, in 2369, following the discovery of
the wormhole that connected Bajor with the Idran system in the Gamma Quadrant, the basic
Galaxy-class starship design was modified to allow the Sarek, renamed after the
death of the Federation’s most famous ambassador in 2368, to explore the
newly opened area of space. As the
mission was planned, it was decided that such an undertaking should not be
solely a Federation endeavor, and invitations to join the crew and mission
were made to the other Alpha Quadrant powers. The invitation was turned down by the Romulans and Cardassians, but
accepted by the Ferengi Alliance, who supplied a
manager and bartender to run the starship’s main lounge – 9/10-Forward; the
Bajoran Militia, who assigned several officers
including the starship’s Chief Medical Officer; and the Klingon
Empire, who assigned an entire strike team which became a part of the Sarek’s
security division.
The Sarek was launched on SD
47034.5 and assigned to the command of Captain Kalin
Kale of Alpha Centauri. After a
brief stop at Starbase Deep Space Nine, the Sarek entered
the Gamma Quadrant in early 2370, first establishing the GammaOne Communications Relay in the Idran system before commencing her mission of exploring
the Gamma Quadrant.
Sarek’s missions were routine for the first
year in the Gamma Quadrant, aside from the higher number than usual of
first contact situations, until the Dominion made its presence known in
late 2370. The destruction of the GammaOne
station cut off all contact with the Federation starship for several
months. Once contact was
re-established, Starfleet considered recalling the Sarek to the Alpha Quadrant,
instead deciding to allow the mission to continue, especially once the starship
managed to obtain a ‘borrowed’ Romulan cloaking
device.
In 2371 Captain Kale was
reassigned to the Advanced Starship Design Bureau (ASDB) at Utopia Planitia and the Sarek, after a short overhaul
and now under the command of Captain T’Veer of
Vulcan, returned to the Gamma Quadrant with the first two of what were
planned to be dozens of Preliminary Survey Vessels (PSV), modified
Danube-class runabouts that were supposed to chart and survey new sectors
and relate the most promising areas for the Sarek to explore in-depth.
Unfortunately , the Sarek was infiltrated by the
Dominion in the form of the starship’s new First Officer, one of the
Dominion Founders under deep cover, who almost managed to destroy the
Federation starship. With the loss
of both survey vessels, rising tensions with the Klingon
Empire and continued attacks by the Jem’Hadar,
the Sarek
was ordered back to the Alpha Quadrant in mid-2372.
Several months later, after
an investigation of the crew and how a Changeling managed to infiltrate the
Starfleet vessel, the Sarek was assigned to the command of Captain Horga’hn Sehente’, assigned
to minor missions within Federation space until the outbreak of the
Dominion War and the capture of Deep
Space Nine at the end of 2373.
The Sarek was assigned to the
Galaxy Wing of the Federation fleet and participated in Operation Return,
the re-capture of DS9 from
Dominion control, but was badly damaged during the battle, dropping away
from the fleet when the ship experienced engine trouble. The ship was placed in drydock at the Antares
Shipyard for repairs. As repairs
commenced, Starfleet evaluated their resources and came to the conclusion
that starships normally outfitted for exploration and diplomacy were
inadequate in the fight against the Dominion. The Admiralty approved a proposal to
rebuild the Sarek
as a powerful, three-nacelled battleship carrying
the latest in Allied weaponry. The
Dominion War ended in late 2375, however, before the completion of the Sarek’s refit
and the starship remained in drydock, abandoned
and nearly forgotten.
In 2377, Fleet Captain Kalin Kale, having heard of his former starship’s fate,
called in favors to have himself and several of his original crew
reassigned to the incomplete Sarek. Over the
course of several weeks, the new crew completed the work necessary to get
the Sarek
spaceworthy again, and on SD 55114.7 the Sarek
departed drydock as the most powerful battleship
in the Federation Starfleet.
The Sarek, under Fleet Captain Kale,
resumed its mission of exploration in the Alpha Quadrant while also acting
as the Federation’s first line of defense in extraordinary situations, like
when an unknown group hijacked a starship from Spacedock
orbiting Earth and attempted to reach the Adelphous
star system before being intercepted by the Sarek.
In 2384, after almost seven years of
protest by the Vulcan government over the name of their greatest ambassador
and statesman being associated with a warship, the Sarek entered drydock at Utopia Planitia to
undergo an extensive overhaul and refit.
The third warp nacelle, advanced weapons and associated systems were
all removed and the starship reconfigured into a standard Flight II
Galaxy-class explorer. Fleet Captain
Kale was promoted to Commodore in charge of the Neutral Zone Outposts,
moving to Sierra Outpost II near Nelvana with his
wife, former Ship’s Counselor Kathleen Hawk, turning the Sarek over to
his First Officer, Captain Kethry Sutherland. In early 2386 the Sarek departed Utopia Planitia and was assigned to the Fifth Fleet, based at Starbase 719 in the Typhon
Sector.
USS
Sarek in drydock at Utopia Planitia in
late 2385.
